With the Border Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 underway between India and Australia, no one can forget the India spin great Harbhajan Singh’s feud with Australia all-rounder Andrew Symonds during the BGT 2007-08.
In the series, the scandal was referred to as ‘Monkeygate’ which defined one of the darker chapters of the cricket rivalry between the two nations.
Years later, Harbhajan opened up, saying he became very good friends with Andrew Symonds after the duo got to know each other better at the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Mumbai Indians in 2011. The Indian spinner even revealed that he shared a warm hug with Symonds after quashing the tension.
What happened in BGT 20070-08?
During that series, both Harbhajan and Symonds were embroiled in a terrible controversy. Symonds had accused Harbhajan of racial abuse, following which the Indian spinner was initially handed a three-match ban.
Post ‘monkeygate’ scandal:
IPL franchise Mumbai Indians bought Andrew Symonds in 2011 auction. Harbhajan was part of MI at that time.
Revealing how the two soothed their relationship, Harbhajan told Code Sports, “We sat together for a long, long time and talked about it. At the end of the conversation, we had a long hug.”
“The picture of the hug became very famous in our chat groups. A very ugly spat became a great friendship,” Harbhajan added.
According to Harbhajan, the incident had been allowed to go too far.
“The Sydney thing should’ve never exploded like it did. We did sort everything out,” Harbhajan stated.
Harbhajan expresses sadness on Symonds’s demise:
Expressing his sadness at Symonds’ death – in a car accident in May 2022, the turbanator said, “When I heard the news of the accident, I just hoped it was false. I couldn’t believe it. I was shattered.”
“When I was in Brisbane last week, I thought if he were still alive, I’d have gone to his place last night, and we would’ve gone out. That’s the bond we shared,” Harbhajan said further.
Ind vs Aus, 4th Test, BGT 2024-25:
Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma-led Indian Cricket Team is all set to face Pat Cummins-led Australia for the fourth Test match from December 26 at Melbourne Cricket Ground in the ongoing Border Gavaskar Trophy.
With both teams having won one Test match each—India winning the Perth Test by 295 runs and Australia at Adelaide Oval by 10 wickets—and the third Test at Gabba drawn, the fourth Test at MCG will decide the fate of the series.
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#BGT #Harbhajan #Singh #opens #monkeygate #scandal #Andrew #Symonds #sat #long